Centennial looks almost perfect in rolling to win

Mike Palumbo doesn’t know the last time Centennial High School won three games in a row to open a football season.

Pueblo Centennial High School quarterback, Quincy Kindred, runs through several would-be tacklers and John F. Kennedy High School's Rece Kruger, enroute to a more than an 80-yard gain setting up the Bulldogs' first touchdown in the first quarter Thursday night September 12, 2013 at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo, Colo. (Bryan Kelsen, The Pueblo Chieftain)

His Bulldogs accomplished the feat Thursday with a 42-2 thrashing of J.F. Kennedy High School in a nonleague mismatch at Dutch Clark Stadium.

“It’s been awhile, I don’t know,” the ’Dogs head coach said of any previous season-opening win streak. “It feels good since we played a lot of new faces (against Kennedy) for different reasons. We were slow and sluggish but got the job done.

The Bulldogs actually stumbled out of the blocks when they muffed the opening kickoff and Kennedy recovered at the ’Dogs’ 18.

But on the first play from scrimmage, Centennial linebacker Kurt Berry rang JFK quarterback Victor Horta’s bell with a mighty hit that went for a 7-yard loss and sent Horta to the sidelines for the rest of the series.

“I was proud of our defense,” Palumbo said. “Kurt Berry put a shot on their quarterback that fired us up to get that (defensive) stop right there.”

It would be a long night for the Commanders offense as Centennial’s defense, led by Berry, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound junior, dominated the line of scrimmage.

After Kennedy missed a 30-yard field-goal attempt on that first possession, Centennial QB Quincy Kindred took control. He broke a 79-yard scamper to the JFK 2 on the Bulldogs’ second offensive play, then scored on the next play with 8:58 left in the quarter.

And the rout was on.

Kindred, a slippery 5-8, 175-pound junior, struck again on Centennial’s next possession. He connected with junior wide receiver Aaron Garcia for a 43-yard touchdown at the 2:42 mark of the first quarter.

Then Centennial put together a 67-yard march that Kindred capped with a 14-yard run around his right end midway through the second quarter.

Not even a steady rainfall could slow down the Bulldogs’ running attack.

Centennial scored again in the third on a 17-yard Garcia run and again early in the fourth quarter when Caleb Miranda broke a 48-yard gallop to make it 35-0.

Kennedy, which went scoreless in its first two games this season, finally got on the board late in the game, but it was the Commanders defense that got the score when Centennial reserve running back Griffyn Anderson was tackled for a safety.

Reserve QB Jake Sanchez capped the win with a 65-yard touchdown run on the final play of the game.